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DAWSON, Minn. — Shannon Larson intended to show his son, Holt, some ice fishing action when they ventured out on the north side of Lac qui Parle Lake Tuesday. It’s what they saw while driving across the ice that caught the eye of Holt’s father. Garbage. Lots of it. Upset by what he saw, Shannon Larson, of Dawson, complained about it in a Facebook posting. Then he thought about it and realized: “It doesn’t do any good to complain,’’ Larson said.

APPLETON — Gov. Mark Dayton holds the key to reopening the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, local legislators told a crowd of nearly 300 at a community meeting Wednesday evening Appleton. Sen. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City, and Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, kept an optimistic tone as they discussed prospects for bringing what’s being called the “Appleton option’’ to the Legislature this session.

MINNEAPOLIS — A coalition of Minnesota-based community, faith, labor and civil rights organizations is opposing the public lease of the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton , owned by Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison corporation. The coalition, led by ISAIAH, a faith-based organization of 100 congregations across Minnesota, said that the company has a track record of cutting corners for the sake of profit.

MINNEAPOLIS—A former CFO at Fagen Engineering created a fictitious ethanol company in Nebraska called Fairmont Investments LLC to help her allegedly embezzle $4.5 million from her employer's company. Kirsten Tjosaas,...

APPLETON — Security cameras keep a constant vigil on silent hallways leading to nearly 400 prison cells, every one empty but kept ready. Books still line the library shelves, weight lifting equipment fills one of the gyms, and barbershop chairs wait for the next one up. “I’m sure one of your questions will also be does it always look like this or did we just clean it up for you to come. This is the way it always is,’’ said Daren Swenson as he escorted two reporters through the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton one week ago.

LAKE LILLIAN — Ron Schara has felt the tug of trophy fish he’s landed in waters from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake of the Woods, all for his popular television series "Minnesota Bound." This tug came on his heartstring. It brought him to Big Kandiyohi Lake in Kandiyohi County. Schara and the Minnesota Bound video crew surprised Zach and Ella Gustafson of Renville when the two stepped into an ice fishing house Monday afternoon. Zach, 10, and Ella, 8, will be the subject of an upcoming episode of “Minnesota Bound’’ on KARE 11.

Masked aliens from outer space make an abandoned house in Appleton their destination. One of them drops in at the Paddle Bar in the downtown. A local woman, played by Samantha Leno, takes an interest in the alien, played by Roy Hanley. Two hunters in the bar, played by brothers Brian and Brice Dempcy, take notice of the visitor too, but not in a friendly way. Things take off from there.